Always Near
by Konoha's Kage
Summary: Before killing herself, Misa left her son to the care of Yagami Sayu. At first N keeps an eye on them to make sure Kira wouldn't be reborn somehow. But the Yagami family will teach him something that no one thought-or even expected-him to ever learn.


Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.

KK: It's twelve o' clock, this just came spilling out. I don't even know. This is set after the one-shot Death Note sequel. If you haven't read it, I can summarize for you right here:

Basically, three years after Light dies, there's a copy-cat "C-Kira" who got his hands on a death note and decided to kill old people who presumably wanted to die. Then on TV, when pro-C-Kira people said the elderly wanted to die because they knew they were useless, some young suicidal people went on air, begging C-Kira to kill them too, and he happily obliged. Right after, N comes on and basically tells all of Japan to F**k off because this wasn't an interesting case at all and (according to the original L) he wasn't going to take any case that wasn't interesting. Then, he totally BAMF'ed all over C-Kira, going all "You're stupid and SO not worth my time, honey," and C-Kira became so distraught he killed himself.

Oh, and everyone's hating on poor Matsuda.

So I thought of this story.

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><p>Sayu nearly tripped over the rectangular box on her doorstep. Recognizing the insignia emblazoned on the box, she picked it up as she entered the house.<p>

"Mom, I'm home!"

"I'm in the kitchen darling, with Sai-chan."

She carried the box into the kitchen and set it on the counter before a little two-year-old toddler padded toward her eagerly. She picked him up, grinning as he squealed with glee. She shared a significant glance with her mother regarding the black cardboard box that had been delivered to them.

"I think I'll give Sai-chan his bath," Sachiko said, absentmindedly pushing a lock of hair out of her daughter's face for her. "I don't think I can handle talking to him." Her face was warm, but composed as she faced away from the reminder that her life had been turned upside down years ago by her husband and her son.

Sayu nodded, handing Sai-chan off to Sachiko before turning towards the box. The pearly L stared up at her, carved out from its papery black surface. She waited for the sound of the door of her mother's bedroom to close before she opened it.

As expected, inside was a laptop, unmarked and almost blindingly white, like the one she had received when rumors of a new Kira arrived. These rumors claimed Kira to be helping Japan by ridding it of elderly lives that wasted precious time and resources. It was sick, and Sayu made an effort to keep Saito away from the televisions. He wouldn't have understood any of it, but she wanted to protect him from all things Kira.

She pulled it out and set it on the counter, and paused before lifting up the lid and pressed the button.

There was a faint whirring as the machine started up, then the screen lit up and the speakers wasted no time in bursting with sound.

"Yagami Sayu." The voice was inhuman, inflectionless, and still somehow delicate. She recognized it as that of the world's greatest detective, whose laptop had appeared on her doorstep weeks before to inform her that her family was being watched for any connections to the Kira Copycat, or, as he had called it, C-Kira.

"L," she replied.

"The C-Kira case has ended. All recording devices have been removed from your place of residence."

She scoffed. "Only the new ones. How am I supposed to believe that you never kept tabs on us ever since Misa died? Since Light?"

"I suppose if you had the money, you would be able to hire someone to efficiently examine your house for recording devices."

Pretentious, self-absorbed, rich bastard, Sayu thought. She must have said some or all of that aloud because he replied –

"You asked."

"Why won't you lay off on us anyway? What could my mother or I do? What could a two-year-old _possibly _do?"

"The effects of the Death Note are still uncertain. We are merely making sure we have all bases covered, and that includes all of the original Kira's connections."

Sayu flinched. Death Note, Kira. She already knew what Light had been and done. She wasn't supposed to know, but there was no hiding it when Misa killed herself and left her son, Yagami Saito, to her would-be sister-in-law. A slip of tongue from a distraught Matsuda was enough for Sayu to figure it all out.

It broke her heart, but somehow it did not surprise her. After everything that had happened to her, everything she'd lost, she knew there had to be a reason. Finally, she had been given one. Light was Kira.

She hated it. She hated that she couldn't remember her brother without both missing him sorely and still being glad he died, and she hated that she would never be able to raise Sai-chan without looking for signs of –

But that sure as hell didn't mean that she wouldn't try.

"Who else have you completely disrespected by invading their privacy, then?" she spat towards the black pixels that made up the L floating on the screen.

"Despite his charismatic ability, your brother had very few close connections, and many of them are dead."

"So I suppose I should be glad it's just us," Sayu jibed.

"You may feel about it however you like." A pause. "I was… advised… to forward an apology towards you and your family. I am aware it is a breach of social norms to place recording devices in a private home, though it is a most efficient means of gathering evidence and minimizing crime."

If Sayu didn't know better, she would think that behind that filtered voice was a person _sulking._ A mental image of a schoolboy being scolded by his mother for teasing the other children popped into her mind, making her wonder just how old L was and who exactly was behind him, making him apologize.

"Don't apologize if you don't really mean it, L."

"Alright."

A moment of silence, and then Sayu huffed in realization and indignation. _Unbelievable._

"Perhaps it would ease you to understand my reasoning behind my actions."

"Please, bless me with your word, so that I might understand," she intoned.

"It is a common theory that children are born as a blank slate, and that how they are raised and what they experience molds them into who they are. I am not a believer of this theory. Many are born to be purely sadistic, and many are born to be purely passive, whether or not they spend their whole lives in the same environment. I am a witness to both ends of the spectrum. A supernatural object has the potential to put the moral fiber of Yagami Saito even more at risk for corruption."

"So what you're saying is," Sayu said slowly, "Is that no matter how good a parent I am, how my mother is, there is still a chance Sai-chan will end up being a psychopathic killer?"

"Yes. No matter how good a parent you are. Your mother's parenting skills would be even more in question, considering the turnout of her eldest –"

"Stop right there," Sayu said viciously. "You do not insult my mother. She is a wonderful, kind woman and if she had any say on how to raise _you,_ I wouldn't have to be sitting here dealing with your repulsive manners!"

Another pause, before the voice muttered, "I apologize."

"For what?"

"For questioning your mother's parenting abilities… and for bugging your house."

Sayu leaned in towards the laptop, bracing her hands on the counter, and trying to make herself look as intimidating as possible to a slim piece of machinery. "Apology not accepted."

Somehow, she could hear the person behind the screen become silently flustered.

"I do not understand what you mean to do by saying this. A lack of forgiveness would be of no loss for me. On the other hand, anger towards me is only a loss towards you."

"The fact that you don't think it's a loss towards you means that you don't really feel sorry. Which makes you a liar for apologizing."

"…I have no qualms about being called a liar. My very name is a false one."

She smirked. "Well, I have some issues with lying. Which is why you can trust me when I say this: I am going to prove you wrong, L."

The computerized voice seemed to get sharper and more alert. "Prove me wrong?"

"Last time you left a laptop here you told me to destroy it after you relayed your message, to make sure it couldn't be traced back to you. I'm not going to do that with this one. I want you to continue watching through this laptop, and I'll show you. I know you already have cameras and bugs all over my house, but through this screen, this is how I know you'll always be watching." He may have control over their privacy, but now Sayu had some control as well, as small and insignificant as it was. "My mother and I are going to raise Sai-chan, and we're going to make sure he comes out as a successful, kind and trustworthy man. Then you'll see. The fates of us lesser people are not set in stone."

"I have not accused your fates of any such thing."

"I know you think it, L. And I know that you hate being proved wrong. Which is how I know you'll definitely be watching."

"If you do not comply with my orders to destroy the laptop, I can simply internally disable it from here."

"I'm sure you can, but then you'd be giving up, wouldn't you? Does L ever give up?"

"I do nothing I am not interested in. I am not interested in your challenge. You are putting my identity and location at risk."

"Fine. I'll just leave you here then. If you think that miniscule risk isn't worth it, go ahead and leave us alone. It's all up to you."

That night, Sayu kissed her mother and her nephew as they both went to sleep. Before she turned out the lights in the kitchen and headed to her room, she took out the charger from her own laptop and plugged it into L's.

"Good night, L," she said. The machine continued to whirr mutedly.

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><p>KK: Apologies for the horrible puns (or foreshadowing? hinthint) for Light's son's name and story title.<p> 


End file.
